


Groomed

by Ketoprofen



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Kissing, Mild Language, Recreational Drug Use, Romance, Underage Drinking, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27064387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ketoprofen/pseuds/Ketoprofen
Summary: A new girl transfers to Trost High School and Jean finds himself instantly interested. Unfortunately for him, she sees through his attempts to flirt and quickly shuts him down. As a friendship slowly (and reluctantly) blossoms and Jean learns more about her past, he finds himself in a situation he never could have predicted.
Relationships: Jean Kirstein/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First Jean story! This is Jean/Holly with Levi/Kat in the background but not enough to justify a tag.
> 
> I'll add more tags as chapters are posted in an effort to not spoil the story. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Jean sat in his first period Literature class doing his best to stay awake. He was only two weeks into senior year and he was already over it. None of his friends were in this class, and it was too early in the morning to start critically analyzing the subtext of novels. The bell signaling the start of class rang and Jean reluctantly pulled out his copy of the book they were reading through. It wasn’t even an interesting book. It was some classic romance novel and boring as Hell.

“All right everyone, time to sit down and be quiet,” the teacher said from the front of the room.

Jean opened up his book to the chapter they were assigned to read over the weekend and looked up at his teacher. An unfamiliar blonde girl was standing next to him. Jean thought to himself that she was pretty cute.

“This is our new student, Holly Arlert,” the teacher introduced her quickly before pointing her over to the only empty desk in the classroom - the desk right in front of Jean.

She mumbled a quiet thanks to her teacher before quickly walking back to the desk. She set her bag down on the floor and pulled out a notebook, pen, and a copy of the novel. The teacher started lecturing.

"Hey," Jean whispered with his trademark smirk that no girl could resist as he held his hand out for her to shake. "I'm Jean."

"Holly," she answered simply without offering her hand in return. 

He waited for her to say something else. When she didn't, he cleared his throat and asked, "So what school did you transfer from?"

She didn't answer him as she kept her attention on the lecture and took notes.

He cleared his throat again and decided to try again, but this time he made his voice just slightly louder to make sure she heard him, "What school did you transf-"

With a quick look over her shoulder, she interrupted him, "Do you mind? I'm trying to actually learn something."

His mouth snapped shut and his eyes went a little wide. No one had ever shut him down like that before and he wasn't really sure how to handle it. Stunned into silence, he sat back in his seat and left her alone.

\----

At the end of class, the girl got up and walked out of the classroom before Jean got a chance to try and talk to her again. He was shit with names and had already forgotten hers - he was hoping he’d get a chance to figure it out if he got a chance to actually talk to her. He thought that maybe she would be in one of his other classes, or maybe he would see her in passing in the halls. He remembered that she smelled really nice on top of being pretty. Maybe he could break the ice by complimenting her perfume - girls always liked when he did that.

Unfortunately, he didn’t see her for the rest of the day. He resigned himself to trying again tomorrow in class and headed out to his car after school was dismissed for the day. Connie was waiting for him as usual.

“So did you ever see her again?” Connie asked once Jean was close enough.

The two of them had the same second period class and Jean had mentioned the girl in passing. “No.”

Connie just nodded as he walked over to the passenger side of Jean's car. As he waited for Jean to unlock the doors, he idly looked around at all the other students leaving the school. “Hey, who’s that walking with Eren?”

Jean looked up, thinking that maybe Mikasa cut her hair again and Connie just didn’t recognize her. He quickly realized that wasn’t the case - Eren was walking with the girl. 

"That's her," Jean said. 

Jean wasn't sure why the new girl was hanging out with Eren, but he knew some part of him didn't like it. She could do way better than Eren. 

Jean and Eren had never particularly gotten along. Jean was the type to stay on top of fashion trends and make sure he was always dressed well. He kept his hair neatly cut and styled and, in general, focused a lot on his appearance. This wasn't really for anyone else's sake (he simply took pride in his appearance) but girls seemed to appreciate that he took care of himself which just served as encouragement to keep it up. Eren, however, went in the exact opposite direction. He only ever wore wrinkly t-shirts and the same two pairs of ripped jeans. He kept his hair long and messily tied back in a man bun most days. He had snake bite piercings and gauged ears. Most people were put off by his appearance and he got in a lot of fights as a result.

Eren and the girl stopped at a car nearby and were leaning against it talking. 

"I'm gonna go talk to her again," Jean told Connie

With a smug grin on his face, Connie said, "I don't think it's going to work."

Jean gave his own smug grin in return as he said, "Watch and learn." He’d never had a girl reject him. Sure, sometimes they played a little hard to get but he always charmed them eventually. He quickly checked his hair and teeth in the reflection of his window before he turned and started jogging up to Eren and the girl. "Hey guys," he greeted the two of them once he was close enough.

The pair stopped talking and turned to look at him. 

"Hey?" Eren responded, obviously confused as to why Jean decided to randomly talk to him.

Jean ignored Eren and turned to his female companion. "Hey we met earlier, remember me?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Uhh I guess. Jack, was it?"

Jean's grin dropped. "It's Jean."

"Oh, sorry about that. I've got this condition where I can't remember names of fuck boys," she said.

Eren snorted a single laugh before he was able to control himself.

Jean was shaken for a moment, but managed to quickly recover and keep his grin on his face. He laughed a little like she had made a joke. "I think that's unfair to say. You don't know me."

"Yeah?" She asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. "If you're not just talking to me because you want sex, then what's my name?"

Jean mentally cursed himself. He was hoping he'd get to fake his way through this conversation until he remembered her name.

A few seconds of awkward silence passed before she said, "You heard it twice today." Like she was trying to give him a hint.

He still didn't have an answer. He was racking his brain trying to remember, but he just couldn't. He started listing off a bunch of female names in his head, hoping that one of them would sound familiar. Armin and Mikasa walked up as he was deep in thought and dodged around him before getting into the back seat of the car.

"That's what I thought," she finally said before turning away from Jean and getting in the passenger seat. 

Eren's snickering made Jean snap his head over at him and glare. "What's so fucking funny?"

Eren just shook his head with that same stupid smile on his face. "Better luck next time,” he said before climbing into the driver's seat.

Jean ran his hand down his face in embarrassment as he walked back over to his own car where Connie was waiting for him.

"How'd it go?" Connie asked with a shit-eating grin.

"Shut up," was all Jean said as he got in his car and started the engine.

\----

Jean spent most of the night analyzing his interactions with the girl. He remembered her name once he got home - Holly - but now he needed to figure out how to convince her to talk to him. She was right that he originally only talked to her because he wanted to fuck her, but now he was a little intrigued. He usually considered himself fairly suave and smooth, but she had seen right through him. She wasn’t the typical ditzy girl he went after, despite her blonde hair and pretty face making her look exactly like a ditzy girl he would typically go after. Eventually, he realized that his usual method of seduction wouldn’t work. He would have to be her friend first and then work from there. He estimated that he’d get to sleep with her by winter break at the latest.

Jean walked into Literature class the next morning to see Holly already there. Her notebook, pen, and novel were out on her desk and she was wasting the last few minutes before class playing on her phone.

“Morning, Holly,” he greeted with a smile as he sat down at his desk behind her.

“You remembered my name?” She asked without looking up from her phone. “Good job.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I’ve always been really bad with names.”

She hummed back in response, unconvinced.

“I think we got off on the wrong foot yesterday. I forgot your name and that gave the wrong impression,” he said. “I’d like to start over fresh if you’re okay with that.”

She let out a sigh and finally put her phone down. Turning around in her seat, she said, “Fine.”

He smiled at her. “Great. It’s nice to meet you, I’m Jean.” He stuck his hand out for her to shake.

She responded in kind, letting her small hand get dwarfed inside his large one. “Holly.”


	2. Chapter 2

“I’m assigning partners today for your first group presentation,” the teacher announced in class.

They were now a month into the school year and had just finished their first novel. They were going to read through six books total before the end of the year and each one was going to have an individual paper written about it as well as a group presentation. This was a high-level literature class with a national exam at the end of the year and their teacher wanted to drill as much information as possible into their heads for the exam. 

He started going down the rows assigning people based on who they were sitting next to. It was just straight down the line with each student getting paired with the person sitting behind them. Of course, that meant Jean and Holly were partnered.

Holly bit back an annoyed groan. Jean had been flirting nonstop with her the last few weeks and she was getting a little exhausted with it. She wasn’t stupid - she knew he was only trying to be friends with her so that she would sleep with him. But that would never happen. Unfortunately, no matter how uninterested she made herself appear, he never gave up.

She could hear the stupid smile in his voice as he asked, “You want to come to my house after school or do you want me to come to yours?”

“Neither,” she answered.

“We can meet halfway at a restaurant or something,” he suggested.

This time she actually did groan. She couldn’t be seen with him in a public place. “No we can go to my house.” She turned around and held her hand out. “Give me your phone, I’ll put my number in and text myself. I’ll send you my address later. I have to get it from Armin first, I don’t have it memorized yet.”

Jean tried to hide his confusion as he handed his phone over. “How does Armin know your address, but you don’t?” Jean knew the kid was smart, but that seemed like an odd thing to know.

“I live with him,” she answered as she tapped away on his phone. Her phone chirped with a text message as she handed his phone back to him. 

“You live with him?” he asked stupidly.

She nodded. “He’s my cousin. I moved in with him so that I could go to school here.”

He had to resist the urge to slap himself. Her last name was Arlert - of course she was related to Armin. Now that he looked, he did see some familial resemblance between Holly and Armin. Same blonde hair, same blue eyes, same general face shape, but there were enough differences to keep them from being mistaken as siblings.

“Oh, okay,” Jean stumbled over his words a bit. So that’s why she knew Eren - through Armin. “Well I already know where he lives so I don’t need the address.”

“All right, good. You can’t come by today. I’ll let you know when it’s a good day.”

“Okay, sure. Just text me whenever.”

\----

Over the next few days, Holly didn’t give Jean any indication that he could come over. He was starting to get antsy, but he didn’t want to pester her about it. His main goal was, of course, to hang out alone with her in her room, but he was also anxious to get the project started since it was due in two weeks and involved a lot of steps.

Friday morning came around and Holly finally said that today was a good day. “But you have to be gone by sunset.”

His eyebrows came together in confusion. “Why?”

“Because I turn into a pumpkin once it gets dark outside.”

He snorted a small laugh. “Okay, but seriously.”

She sighed. “Does it matter?”

“I mean…” It didn’t matter, but he didn’t want to tell her that. He wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. “...what if we don’t finish everything by then?”

“Jean,” she said with a blank, slightly-annoyed face. “There are six hours between school letting out and the sun going down. We’ll have plenty of time. Besides, there are days other than tomorrow to work on it.”

He sighed over-dramatically. “Fine. It’s a date, then.”

“Nope, not a date. Homework.”

“Homework date, then,” he said with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes and turned away from him, doing her best to hide the smirk on her face. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she thought he was a little funny.

\----

Jean was already at Armin's house when Eren's car pulled up that afternoon. 

"Why is Horse Face here?" Eren asked.

"Who?" Holly asked. 

"Horse Face," Eren repeated himself.

Holly looked at Jean getting out of his car, then back at Eren. "You mean Jean?"

"Who else would I mean?"

"He doesn't have a horse face," she pointed out. "I mean sure, it's long, but it's not _that_ long."

"Okay fine why is Sort of Horse Face here?"

"We're partners for a project in Lit class," Holly answered as she, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin got out of Eren's car. "Don't worry, I already told him he has to be gone by sunset."

Eren's shoulders seemed to relax. "Good, because you know it'll be _my_ ass if I get you there late."

Holly didn't bother responding because she knew it was a rhetorical statement. Eren was just whining because he didn't like Jean being around. The group of teenagers filed into Armin’s house and started splitting up into their respective groups. Armin, Mikasa, and Eren headed upstairs toward Armin’s room.

"You can go drop your crap in the dining room," Holly said to Jean as she pointed in the appropriate direction. "I'm gonna go grab my laptop from my room."

"We're not going to your room?" Jean asked.

Eren threw a glare at Jean who readily returned it.

Holly either didn't see their staring contest or she chose to ignore it. "I don't allow strange boys in my room."

"Oh come on, I'm at least an acquaintance at this point," he said half-jokingly.

"I don't allow acquaintance boys in my room," she answered with a teasing smirk. She was halfway up the stairs now, so Jean decided to keep any comments to himself as he walked into the dining room and started unpacking his notebook and novel.

When Holly entered the room a few minutes later, Jean asked, "What do I have to do to be considered a friend?"

"Wow," she said as she opened up her laptop and sat down next to him. "I promise there's nothing that interesting in my room."

"You're usually there, right? That’s pretty interesting." He gave her a coy smirk which she responded to with an eye roll. 

"Trust me, pretty boy. You don't want to be my friend."

"I knew you thought I was pretty," he teased.

She rolled her eyes again, but this time there was a grin on her face. "Okay Romeo, I'd like to actually get some work done today if you don't mind."

"If I'm Romeo, are you Juliet?"

"Sure. You drink the poison first this time."

He put his hands up in mock surrender. "Fine, fine. We can work now."

"Thank you."

Once they finally got started, it was easy to fall into a rhythm and delegate duties and sections of the project. Holly was impressed that Jean could be serious at all and Jean was impressed at Holly’s analytical mind. He was able to keep any stupid comments to himself and she found subtext in the novel that he never even imagined and it actually helped him to enjoy the story a little more. They would never say it to each other, but both of them thought they worked well together.

\----

Their project was almost done, so they decided to get together the following Friday to put on the finishing touches. It would be the same schedule as before: right after school until the sun went down. 

Eren, Armin, Mikasa, and Holly were pulling into the driveway like usual when Holly's phone beeped with a text. She quickly read it as they all got out of the car and started walking inside the house.

"Hey Armin, Jean's wondering if it's okay if he brings a kid over with him. He said his neighbors need him to emergency babysit. Should only be an hour or two."

"Yeah it's fine," Armin answered at the same time that Eren belted out an annoyed groan.

"What is it now?" Holly asked Eren.

"Horse face is trying so hard it's ridiculous," he said with another groan.

"What are you talking about?" Armin asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Eren asked as he threw his hands up in the air in a manner that conveyed the same question. "It's such an old trick. You borrow your friend's kid or their puppy or whatever and you go parading them around like they're yours and girls love that shit. _'Oh you're so sensitive and caring please stick your dick in me'_. Well fuck you, Horse Face. I know your game."

His three friends ignored his crazed ranting as they walked inside. Eren's notorious tirades about whoever had gotten on his bad side that day were easy to tune out for his long-time friends.

"I'm telling you," Eren seemed like he was winding down now as he pointed a finger at Holly. "Just watch. He's going to try really hard to make it seem like he's best buds with this kid to try and impress you." 

Holly couldn't stop her eyes from rolling. "I'll be on the lookout for any suspicious activities." Despite her sarcastic tone, she took Eren's words to heart. She was smart enough to know that she was still a little naive when it came to guys. Not as much as when she was younger, but she was far from an expert on male seduction techniques.

Setting up the dining room table involved several trips up and down the stairs in order to bring down all of their project materials from her room. Just as she was sitting down to power up her laptop, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" She called upstairs even though she knew no one was going to come down to answer the door.

Jean was standing outside with a young boy next to him. Holly guessed the kid was 8 or 9.

"Hey Holly," Jean said quickly before he plopped a hand down on top of the kid's mop of black hair. "This is Hunter."

"Hey Hunter," Holly said.

"Hi," he responded. "Do you have an Xbox?"

"Noooo," Jean said as he lightly pushed on Hunter's shoulder to direct him inside the house. "Your dad would skin me alive if he found out you didn't do your homework while I was watching you."

Hunter groaned and threw his head back in a frustrated pout, but he didn't resist as Jean steered him into the dining room.

Holly couldn't help but smile a little as she closed the door and followed after them. "Do you guys want anything to drink?"

"Do you have Red Bull?" Hunter asked with a gasp.

"Are you kidding me? No," Jean said as he scowled down at the boy.

Hunter groaned even louder and longer this time as he collapsed dramatically into one of the chairs around the table.

"Whatever's fine," Jean said to Holly.

She nodded and turned to walk into the kitchen. She could still hear their voices over the sounds of glasses clinking and ice dispensing from the fridge.

"Can you help me with my math homework?" Hunter asked.

"Is it the same stuff you had the other day?"

"No," Hunter answered. "I watched those YouTube videos you sent and was able to figure that stuff out. This is something new."

"Okay, let me see."

Holly filled their glasses with soda as a compromise between water and energy drink. When she brought the drinks out, Jean was hovering over Hunter's shoulder pointing and writing and explaining what needed to be done to solve the problems on his homework. 

Either this was all a very elaborate act, or Jean really did spend time with Hunter on a regular basis. Holly made a mental note to tell Eren that he'd been wrong to assume that Jean was "borrowing" a kid in order to seduce her. Not that it was any of Eren's business; she just liked to rub it in his smug face when he was wrong about something.

Over the next two hours, Jean flipped back and forth between working on the project and helping Hunter with his homework. No matter how many questions Hunter asked, Jean kept his cool and stayed very patient. Holly never thought Jean could be so mellow - up to this point he'd been kind of an insistent spaz around her - and she liked this side of his personality. 

When the doorbell rang, Jean and Holly were hunched close together finalizing their presentation while Hunter was next to them watching YouTube videos on Jean's phone. 

Jean tapped the boy on the shoulder and signaled for him to remove the earbuds that he'd borrowed from Holly. "Your mom's here. Pack up your stuff."

Hunter said okay before unplugging the headphones from the phone and handing each item back to their respective owners. 

Holly went to the door and opened it. Her jaw dropped open when she realized she recognized the woman standing on her porch. "Mrs. Ackerman?"

The blond woman's eyebrows furrowed for a moment before she also had a moment of recognition. "Holly?"

"You two know each other?" Jean asked as he came walking up to the door.

"Hey Mom," Hunter greeted as he walked up. "Bye Jean. Bye Holly. Thanks for letting me use your headphones," he said over his shoulder as he waved goodbye and walked out to the street where his mom's car was parked.

"Mrs. A was my English teacher last year," Holly finally answered Jean's question. She was so stunned at seeing her old teacher that she didn't even hear Hunter's farewell.

The woman grinned and waved her hand dismissively in the air. "You can call me Kat. You're not my student anymore."

"A-all right," Holly stammered. It was always surreal to see teachers outside in the real world doing normal adult things, and even moreso now considering Holly’s history with this particular teacher.

"How are you doing, Holly?" Kat asked.

Holly thought back to the state of her life the last time they saw each other, because Holly was certain Kat's question was referencing that. "Better, thanks. I'm living with my uncle and aunt now and going to Trost High."

Kat let out a happy sigh. "Good. I'm glad to hear that." She looked over at Jean. "Did Hunter behave?"

"Yep," Jean said.

"Good. Thanks again, Jean. You're always a lifesaver." Her eyes shifted back over to Holly. "I wish I had time to stay and catch up, but I need to get home and start dinner. Maybe Jean can bring you by one day to visit."

"Uhh…" Holly started. "I don't know, maybe." It was the nicest way she could think of to say 'no'. She was already taking a risk spending time with Jean and she wasn't about to drag her favorite teacher down with her. Not with what she already knew.

"Sounds great. See you guys later," Kat said with a wave over her shoulder as she walked away. She could tell from Holly's body language that the offer to catch up had been declined. It was unfortunate, but Kat knew better than to grill Holly in front of someone else.

Jean and Holly went back inside to finish their project.

"So…" Holly started once they were sitting back down. "You and Hunter were really cute."

Jean did his best to hide his blush and his bashful smile. "Thanks I guess. He's a good kid and I know what it's like being an only child with parents who work a lot so I don't mind watching him and letting him hang out with me."

Holly leaned forward and propped her elbow on the table so that she could look at Jean and rest her head on her fist. "That's really nice of you. I would've loved to have a cool older sister to hang out with when I was a kid."

"You're an only child, too?" He asked.

"Yeah, with parents that were otherwise preoccupied."

Jean could hear the bitter sadness in her voice, so he decided not to press her on what 'otherwise preoccupied' meant. Maybe one day she would open up and tell him, but until then he would keep his curiosity to himself.

They were only able to work for another half hour before Eren came downstairs and told Jean he needed to leave. A stupid argument followed that mostly consisted of the same insults as always getting thrown back and forth before Holly broke them up and sent both boys on their ways.


	3. Chapter 3

Jean and Holly's project earned an A+ and was the only one to do so in the class. The teacher told everyone that, for the next novel’s project, everyone could either choose to keep the same partners or switch. Jean and Holly decided they would stick together since they’d done so well. 

At the end of class, as usual, Jean tried to pack up his stuff as quickly as he could in an effort to leave the room at the same time as Holly. She somehow always managed to leave before him and sneak out of the room without saying goodbye. Today, however, when Jean stood up to put his backpack on, he was surprised to see Holly standing next to her desk. She had all of her stuff packed and looked ready to go, but she was just standing there looking at him.

“What’s up?” He asked.

“Nothing, just figured I’d walk you to your next class,” she answered with a shrug.

He bit back the teasing comment bubbling to the surface. This was a big step toward friendship and he didn’t want to ruin it by being an ass. “Sure, yeah. Thanks.”

The two of them turned and walked out of the room. They didn’t talk about anything in particular, mostly just class stuff as they tried to work out a schedule for when they could get together and work on the next project. This time they were going to progressively work on it throughout the time they were reading the book instead of waiting until the last minute to get everything done. Before they knew it, they were standing outside of Jean’s second period classroom. 

“I’ll see you Monday,” Holly said with a slight wave as she started walking off toward her next class which was a few hallways away. 

“Wait,” he said without thinking. 

She stopped and turned back to face him. “What?”

He had no idea what to say, all he knew was that he didn’t want her to go yet. “I’m having a party this weekend. You should come.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him. “It’s Friday and you’re just now telling me about a party you’re having this weekend?”

Obviously yes, because he didn’t even know he was having a party until five seconds ago. “I tried telling you all week, but you always run off after class so I never got a chance.” It seemed like a good enough excuse and she seemed to buy it.

“I’ll have to see what I’m doing tomorrow. I’ll text you later and let you know.”

“Great yeah. I hope I’ll see you there.” He cringed internally at how desperate he sounded.

She grinned a little and pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “Can I go to class now?”

“I guess I can allow that,” he said with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes just like she did every time he made a stupid joke, said goodbye, and turned to walk away.

He stood out in the hall watching her until she was out of sight. When he turned to go into the classroom, Connie was standing in the doorway staring at him.

“What?” Jean snapped.

“Nothing, just wondering when you turned into a lovesick puppy,” Connie answered.

Jean made a ‘pfft’ noise and waved his hand in the air. “I’m having a party this weekend.”

“Yeah I heard,” Connie said.

“I need you to get your weird friend Reiner to get us booze,” Jean said as they both finally walked into class. Connie somehow knew a guy who was in college and had no problem buying beer and liquor for high school parties - for a slight markup, of course.

Connie sent a quick text, presumably to his friend, as the two of them sat down. “I’ve got something you probably want to hear before you try and bang this girl.”

“What’s that?” Jean asked. 

“The reason she had to transfer schools was because some guy was flirting with her, but she didn’t like him back so she had her boyfriend kill him.”

Jean’s shoulder slumped. “She’s got a boyfriend?”

“Seriously, dude? _That’s_ what concerns you about that story?”

Jean scowled. “Connie, that’s the dumbest rumor I’ve ever heard. Even if it was true - which I'm sure it's not - they would arrest her for murder, not transfer her to another school.”

“Whatever man, I’m just warning you to be careful. She seems crazy,” Connie said with his hands held up in surrender.

“She’s not crazy,” Jean bit back. Though now he was going to have to find a way to ask about the boyfriend thing.

The bell rang and ended their conversation.

\----

Holly texted Jean the next morning and said that she could go to the party, but only if Eren was also allowed to come. Jean’s first thought was ‘fuck no’, but then he decided better of it when he realized the alternative was Holly not coming. And since she was the whole reason he was throwing this stupid party, he texted her back and said it was fine. Eventually he was going to have to find out just how close Holly and Eren were. Hopefully he wasn’t the boyfriend Connie mentioned.

Jean spent the vast majority of Saturday cleaning his house and getting everything ready for that night. He especially made sure his room was clean and his laundry and sheets were freshly washed. And he double checked to make sure he had condoms. Just in case.

His parents loved to travel. Once a month, they took a three-day weekend from work and flew or drove somewhere within the country. Luckily for Jean, this was their weekend out of town.

Connie showed up with Reiner about an hour before the party was supposed to start. Jean paid him - it was the money his parents had left him for food while they were out of town - before the three of them took their traditional pre-party shots of vodka. Once those were done, Reiner wished the boys good luck and left.

“That guy skeeves me out,” Jean told Connie, who just shrugged in return. At least this time Reiner didn’t stay. There was always a 50/50 chance that he would stick around for the beginning of the party, and Jean was glad that this time he decided he had better things to do than hang out with a bunch of high schoolers. “How do you know him anyway?”

“He’s Sasha’s dealer,” Connie answered. 

“I thought Zeke was her dealer?” Jean said. Zeke Yeager, Eren’s older brother, was the biggest drug dealer in town. He was well-known with a huge customer base, but somehow always managed to evade the police.

“Reiner works for Zeke.”

Jean just nodded his head and figured that’s why Reiner creeped him out. Jean had never met Zeke, but he’d heard stories of how creepy the guy was, so it wasn’t surprising to learn that he kept creepy employees. He brushed the thought aside and worked with Connie to get the kitchen island set up with cups, liquor, and mixers.

Three hours later, Jean was starting to worry that maybe Holly wasn’t going to come after all. He hadn’t seen her and he hadn’t gotten a text or call from her, either. The house was pretty full, so he thought that maybe he just hadn’t seen her in the crowd. He found Connie in the living room smoking a bowl with Sasha and a few other friends. Jean didn’t smoke pot, but he didn’t care if his friends did. The only rule he had was nothing harder than pot in his house.

“Have you guys seen Holly?” He asked the small group huddled around his coffee table.

Connie nodded his head, but didn’t say anything as he held smoke in his lungs and passed the bowl to Sasha.

Before she took a hit, Sasha said, “Yeah she’s been in the backyard for like an hour.”

“What?” Jean asked. How the hell had he missed her?

“Yeah dude,” Connie said before pausing to have a slight coughing fit. “She’s just been back there drinking with Eren.” He looked at Sasha and quietly said, “Fuck, Zeke always has the strongest shit.”

Jean decided he’d had enough of that conversation and turned to go find Holly. He didn’t really want to hear anything else about Eren’s brother, anyway.

Sure enough, just like Connie and Sasha said, Holly and Eren were sitting on the back patio with Armin and Mikasa. Armin was slowly sipping a beer - probably his only one for the night as Armin wasn’t much of a drinker - and Mikasa was just drinking water. Eren and Holly, on the other hand, were laughing obnoxiously at something with a half-empty bottle of rum sitting between them.

“Hey guys,” Jean said as he closed the sliding glass door behind him. “Glad you could make it.”

Eren snorted in annoyance and took a sip of his drink.

Holly backhanded Eren’s chest lightly and gave him a half-hearted glare before she looked up at Jean with a smile. “Thanks for the invite.”

“You guys having fun?” He directed the question at the group, but he really only cared about Holly’s answer.

“Yeah,” Holly said before looking around at the other partygoers. “This is different from our usual parties. It’s nice.”

“Different how?” Jean asked.

“Different like I don’t normally drink so I’m having fun being drunk,” she answered.

“Because you’re normally not _allowed_ to drink,” Mikasa said quietly.

Holly shot her a look and hissed, “Please Mikasa. Not tonight.”

Mikasa just responded with the same bored look she gave everyone. With an exasperated sigh, she got up from the table and walked inside without saying anything else. Holly propped an elbow up on the table and put her face in her hand before letting out a frustrated sigh. 

Armin gave his cousin a sympathetic look as he stood up. “I’ll go talk to her.”

As Armin walked back inside, Eren let out another annoyed groan. “I have to pee. I’ll be right back.” He stood up and glared at Jean. “I’m watching you, Horse Face.”

“Fuck off,” Jean responded with a clenched jaw as he matched Eren’s glare. The two of them didn’t break eye contact until Eren was out of sight around the corner.

“You two should just kiss already and get it over with,” Holly said.

Jean snapped out of the angry trance he was in to look over at her. “Who?”

“You and Eren,” she said with a smirk.

He scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked away from her. 

After a few seconds of silence, she realized that her teasing wasn’t getting the reaction she wanted. “I think it’d be super hot.”

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “I’m not gay. Or bi.”

She let out an overexaggerated sigh of disappointment and put her hand on her cheek to prop her face up. “That’s too bad.”

He knew he was walking into a trap, but he couldn’t help himself from rolling his eyes and asking, “Why’s that?”

With a smile, she said, “It ruins my fantasies of walking in on you two hate-fucking each other and me joining in because it looks like so much fun.”

“How drunk are you?” He asked in an effort to mask his surprise. Never in his life did he think Holly would say something so filthy.

“Not very,” she answered as she leaned back in her chair. “You gonna give me a tour of your house, or what?”

His eyes went wide. The only time you gave someone a tour of your house was when you planned on ending the tour in your bedroom, preferably alone and with the door locked. Jean wondered if Holly knew that, and then realized that she had to know because why else would she ask? He doubted that she was actually interested in the layout of his parents’ house.

After taking a moment to mentally pat himself on the back for having the foresight to check his condom supply, he gave Holly a little smile. “Sure, let’s go.”

She stood from the table and held back a giggle as he offered his arm in a very cheesy _m’lady_ sort of gesture. With a shallow curtsy, she accepted his elbow and let him lead her back into the house. He made quick work of the downstairs tour (dining room, kitchen, living room, his parents’ room) before guiding her upstairs where there was even less to see (spare room, small living area, bathroom, Jean’s room).

“Lucky for you,” he said as he opened his bedroom door, “I let strange girls into my room.”

She hummed a little as she stepped inside. “I bet you let lots of strange girls into your room.”

“Well,” he stuttered a little and rubbed the back of his neck. “I wouldn’t say _a lot_.”

She hummed again, unconvinced, and looked around. Jean wasn’t a big fan of posters, so for the most part his room was pretty plain. He had a bed, a nightstand, a dresser with a TV on top, and his desk with his computer.

Holly spun in a slow circle, taking in all the details, before she sat down on the edge of his bed. “I approve,” she said as she leaned back on her palms and crossed her legs.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “You approve?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I assumed I would walk in here and it would be disgusting, but it’s not. So good job, I approve of your room.”

He moved from his spot standing in the open doorway and sat next to her on the bed, making sure to leave a few inches between them. He left his door open in case she decided to change her mind. The last thing Jean wanted was for Holly to feel trapped or pressured. He wanted to sleep with her, but he wasn’t some scumbag who coerced girls into something they didn’t really want.

"So does that mean you want to see more of it?" He asked.

She scooted over until her thigh was pressed against his. "I think I want to see more of you."

He smirked at the cheesy line as his head dipped down to her level so that he could look her in the eye. "I think I can arrange that."

She grinned in response and gently bit her bottom lip. Blood rushed below Jean's belt at the sight of her nibbling on her lip and he suddenly felt the need to replace her teeth with his own. His hand came up to rest on her cheek so that he could gently pull her face closer to his. He stopped when their lips were almost touching, letting her decide if she wanted to close the distance or not. They hovered close to each other for a few agonizing seconds. Jean was wondering if he'd read the situation wrong and Holly was wondering why in hell Jean wasn't kissing her yet. 

She finally decided to be a little bold and whispered, "Kiss me."

He happily complied with her demand, leaning in the rest of the way and gently touching his lips to hers. When he started to back away a few seconds later, her lips chased his and she quickly ended up straddling his lap with her arms around his neck. One of his hands grabbed onto her hip as the other went to her lower back and pulled her body in closer to his. Their lips separated just long enough to let them settle into the new position before coming back together. Now the kiss was hungry and passionate as their tongues massaged against each other and their hands started roaming. There was no fight for dominance or roughness, just excitement as they explored each other. Holly gave an experimental roll of her hips, pushing her crotch down against Jean’s. He immediately responded by pushing his hips back up against her so that she could feel just how excited he was. He nearly lost it when she moaned quietly into the cavern of his mouth.

Jean moved his arms and legs so that he could switch their positions, but a cough from his open doorway interrupted him before he could complete the maneuver. 

"Holly it's time to go,” the person said once they were done awkwardly clearing their throat.

Holly sprung out of Jean's lap like she’d been burned and stood in the middle of his room with her head down and her arms crossed over her chest. Jean mentally cursed himself for not closing his door as he looked over at Armin who was standing in said open doorway. Armin gave his friend a half-apologetic expression before he looked over at his cousin.

"Okay. Bye, Jean," Holly mumbled before quickly walking toward the door. She didn’t even look up at him as she gave a half-hearted wave. She’d never been so embarrassed in her life.

"Bye," Jean said as he watched her leave. He wasn't really sure what to make of what just happened, but he decided it was best to let things go for now. He was going to get plenty of chances to talk to her about it soon. She’d seemed very happy and willing while they were kissing, so he was confused as to why she acted the way she did when Armin interrupted them. He hoped she didn’t regret it, because he sure didn’t.

Jean spent a few minutes alone in his room to calm his nerves and let his erection disappear before he stood up and went back downstairs to his party.


	4. Chapter 4

Jean fought the urge to text Holly the next day. He wanted so badly to get her side of things and find out how she felt and what she was thinking, but part of him was worried of what she would tell him. What if, despite his best efforts, she had only kissed him because she felt pressured to do so? What if she now saw him as a creep and wanted nothing to do with him? He wasn’t sure what he would do if that was the case. Now that he’d had a taste of her, he wanted more.

“Shit, maybe I am creepy,” he said aloud to himself at that last thought. He was laying on his bed just staring at the ceiling and constantly telling himself to leave his phone alone.

Some time after lunch, his phone chirped with a text message. To his surprise, it was from Holly: ‘Call me when you have a few minutes’

With his heart pounding in his chest, Jean called her. The line only rang once before she picked up.

“Hey,” she greeted.

“Hey,” he responded in kind. “What’s up?”

“We need to talk about last night.” She didn’t sound happy.

Jean’s heart rate somehow picked up even more. “Okay,” he said cautiously. He was going to let her lead the conversation.

“That can’t happen again,” she said and then went silent.

He expected her to explain, but when she didn’t he asked, “Why not?”

“I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. I’ve got shit in my life that you don’t want to deal with, and I got a little tipsy last night and apparently forgot all about said shit. I can’t drag you into it.”

The chuckle he released wasn’t out of humor but out of disbelief. “Come on Holly, it can’t be that bad.”

“No, no it’s that bad.”

He let a few seconds pass, again waiting to see if she would explain. “Is there anything I can help you with?” He was worried now.

She let out a long sigh. When she simply said, “No,” her voice sounded resigned. “I know this isn’t going to make sense, but I want you to trust me when I say this, okay?”

“Okay?” He agreed hesitantly.

“I like you, Jean. And that’s exactly why we need to leave each other alone. Tomorrow I’m going to switch partners in Lit class so that we see less of each other.”

“Seriously Holly, what the fuck is going on?” He couldn’t believe this. 

“Bye Jean,” she said and the line went silent.

He tried saying her name a few times into the phone with the hope that she was still there, but of course she never responded. After spending a solid minute staring at his phone, he decided to text Armin.

\----

Unfortunately for Jean, Armin never answered the text he sent asking if the two of them could talk. That night Jean slept sporadically as his brain kept waking him up with increasingly outlandish situations as to why Holly was acting the way she was. 

Maybe she just didn’t like him and this was her weird way of rejecting him. That didn’t seem very likely because she directly told him that she had feelings for him, but there was always a chance. Maybe she had a boyfriend like Connie said and she was ashamed of cheating on him. That seemed way more likely. Maybe she was in witness protection and Holly wasn’t even her real name and Armin wasn’t actually her cousin and if she were to date Jean, it would ruin her cover and get her killed.

As he stared at the dark ceiling of his bedroom weighing the pros and cons of dating a girl in witness protection, he decided that it was finally time to get up and start getting ready for school.

When he arrived in class a few hours later, Holly was already there speaking with their teacher. Jean tried to catch her eye, but she seemed to be making a point to avoid looking his way. With a deep sigh, he walked back to his normal desk and sat down. After another minute or so of discussion, Holly thanked the teacher and made her way back to her desk.

As she set down her things, she told him, “You’re partnered with Thomas now.”

“You’re not even going to give me a chance to convince you otherwise?” The question was a little harsh, but the tone of his voice conveyed desperation.

Holly sighed and avoided his eyes. “Please Jean, just drop it. It’ll be better for the both of us.”

He stayed silent because of course he wasn’t going to drop it. He was just going to go around her and talk to all of her friends instead. First on the list was Armin. 

After deciding that he would corner and interrogate Armin during their math class, he obeyed part of Holly’s wishes and left her alone.

When third period rolled around, Jean was glad to see Armin already in class when he walked inside. Knowing he only had a few minutes before class began, he hurried over and planted his palms flat on the blond’s desk to get his attention.

“Morning Jean,” Armin said with a grin.

“Morning,” Jean responded.

“What’s up?” Armin asked in an overly casual tone. Armin was too smart and too observant to be clueless as to what Jean wanted.

“I think you know exactly what's up.”

Armin kept the strained grin on his face and stayed silent.

“Why doesn’t Holly want anything to do with me anymore? Did I scare her? Because that definitely wasn’t my intention and I hope you know that,” Jean said in a rush.

Armin’s grin dropped a little and his eyes softened into that same sympathetic look he’d given Jean two nights ago at the party. “Seriously, Jean. For your own good, just leave her alone.”

“Why does everyone keep acting like she’s so damaged?”

Armin sighed and did his best to put on a brave face. “Just trust me on this one. It’ll be better for the both of you.”

“She said the same thing. What the hell is going on?”

The bell rang and the teacher told everyone to take their seats. Jean gave Armin one last pleading look. Armin just responded with that same sympathetic grin and looked down at his notebook. With a resigned sigh, Jean walked over and sat down at his desk.

His next target was Mikasa. He didn’t share any classes with her, but they always passed by each other in the hallway between fourth and fifth period. It didn’t give him a chance to have a long conversation with her, but anything was better than nothing.

Sure enough, as he walked down the hall later that day, he spotted Mikasa walking in the opposite direction. He quickly stepped through the crowd and intercepted her. “Hey, got a minute?” He asked.

She looked at him with that same indifferent look she gave everybody as she blandly asked, “What?”

He should have spent more time thinking about how he was going to start this conversation. He just stared at her for a few seconds as he ran through his thoughts.

“Is this about the other night?” She asked after a few seconds of silence.

“Yes!” He said much louder than he anticipated. He cleared his throat before continuing, “What did you hear?”

“Holly told me that Armin walked in on you two sucking face.”

He waited for her to continue. When she didn’t, he said, “And?” with an upward inflection.

She sighed and took a step closer to him so that she could speak more quietly. “Do you actually like her or are you just fucking around with her?”

He wanted to be surprised at the question, but he knew he had no right. He knew that his reputation among most of the girls in the school wasn’t great. He’d ghosted enough girls after sleeping with them to properly earn a bad reputation. “I do actually like her, and she told me that she feels the same, but everyone just keeps telling me that I need to leave her alone for some cryptic reason. I was hoping you’d have some advice for me.”

She sighed again and stared at him as she thought it over. This was a tough decision for her to make and she wasn’t sure if Holly would forgive her for telling anyone. “I’ll tell you what I know on one condition.”

“Anything,” he agreed immediately.

“Promise me you’ll do everything in your power to help her.”

Jean was taken aback at how ominous that sentence was. “Umm, yeah of course.”

“Good. I don’t have time to tell you right now, but I’ll tell you after school. Meet me by the parking lot.”

He nodded, said thanks, and let her continue on her way to class as he did the same. Finally he’d get some answers, even if Mikasa made it sound pretty grave.

His last two classes crawled by at a snail’s pace as he continually watched the clock and counted down the minutes until school was released for the day. He had no clue what was taught in his classes because all he could think about was the vast variety of scenarios that Mikasa could possibly tell him. Again he considered the witness protection angle, but quickly realized that couldn’t be it because there was literally nothing he could do to help her in that situation. Mikasa had specifically asked him for help, and Jean assumed she wouldn’t have done that if help was impossible.

By the end of the day, he was mentally exhausted from being so worried for the last two days. He’d barely gotten any sleep the last two nights and he anticipated taking a very long nap as soon as he got home. Mikasa was leaning against a wall waiting for him when he exited the building on his way to the parking lot. She nodded her chin in a ‘follow me’ motion and the two of them walked around the corner out of sight of most of the students also leaving for the day.

“I feel obligated to let you know that I don’t know the entire story,” she said once they were around the corner.

“Okay,” he said slowly.

“Holly’s ex is really controlling over everything in her life.”

“How so?” He asked.

“The only guys she’s allowed to hang out with are Eren and Armin. She’s not allowed to join clubs at school. She’s not allowed to smoke or drink. She has to spend Friday and Saturday nights hanging out with him and his friends. She can’t date,” Mikasa rattled them off, counting each one on her fingers. 

“But you said he’s an ex. Why doesn’t she just tell him to fuck off?”

“I have no idea. I don’t know who the ex is and I don’t know when or why they broke up. I only know what I know because they were laid down as ground rules for me when Holly moved here. Eren said he had to make sure that I wouldn’t help Holly break any of the rules.”

“But Eren was drinking with her the other night,” Jean felt the need to point out.

“And you wouldn’t believe the shit storm that created once we were in the car leaving your house," Mikasa said with a roll of her eyes "Eren and Holly screamed at each other the entire way back to Armin’s house.”

“Jesus,” Jean whispered as he ran a hand through his hair. “What were they arguing about?”

“They just kept saying the same things over and over. Eren was saying that this was the exact reason why Holly wasn’t supposed to drink and was supposed to stick by him. Holly kept saying that she was going to rat him out for getting her drunk if he said anything.”

“Rat him out to who?” Jean asked.

Mikasa shrugged and didn’t say anything else. Jean’s hand continued combing through his hair as he started pacing a few steps back and forth. He’d thought maybe there was something with a boyfriend, but he didn’t think it would be an _ex_ -boyfriend with this much hold over her. No one deserved to have their life controlled like this guy was controlling Holly’s.

He let out a long breath and steeled a look of determination on his face before he looked up at Mikasa. “Okay, I’ll help her. What should I do?”

“First thing I would do is go see what she and Eren do every Friday and Saturday night. Armin and I aren’t allowed to go, but I can give you the address. Maybe it’ll give you some ideas of what you can do.”

“Okay, give me the address,” he said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

\----

Jean parked down the street from a home that he could only describe as a crack house. It was small with bars on the windows and a broken chain link fence around the perimeter of the property with a dirty ‘Beware of Dog’ sign hanging out front. The neighborhood as a whole didn’t look great, but something about this house in particular raised the hair on the back of Jean’s neck. He double checked the address to make sure he was at the right place - yes, this was definitely it - and took a moment to wonder just what in the hell Holly was doing at a place like this before he got out of his car and walked up the cracked sidewalk.

The door was hanging wide open as an obvious open invitation for anybody to come inside. The air was hazy with smoke and reeked of liquor and cheap beer. Jean couldn’t help but grimace as he looked around for Holly through the mass of people. There was a group of people in the living room immediately to his right watching some nature documentary on TV. They all looked completely fucked out of their minds, but he wasn’t sure if it was from alcohol or drugs because both were covering the coffee table in the middle of the room.

He walked down the hall, pushing past women double his age who were trying to sell their bodies to him, and looked in the next doorway. This was the kitchen, but all the countertops were full of liquor bottles, plastic cups, and more drugs. It was like a buffet of illicit substances and a line of people made their way around picking up whatever they pleased. Past them sat the dining room where another group of people sat around the table looking much like the group of people in the living room. As he got even deeper into the house, he found himself hoping that the address was wrong and Holly wasn’t here. He wasn’t sure how he would react if he saw her behaving like everyone else.

All the way at the back was a sliding glass door leading to a backyard that was more dirt than grass. A fire was burning in a rusted metal pit in the middle of the backyard and there were several people sitting around it drinking and doing drugs. A concrete slab just outside the sliding glass door held a small patio table where Holly sat by herself reading something on her phone. Jean opened the door and stepped outside, glad to see that she was seemingly sober and not getting harassed.

The sound of the door opening made her look up and her eyes widened at the sight of him. She immediately shot out of her seat and stalked over to him. “Jean,” she hissed quietly as she grabbed his arm. “Why are you here?” She started pulling him back into the house.

“A little birdie told me you were going to be here tonight. I figured I’d come check it out.” He was trying to keep a flirty grin on his face, but it was difficult with what he knew and the way she was acting. 

“You should go. Now,” she hissed again as she continued dragging him along toward the front of the house. Past the dining room, past the kitchen, down the hall, and almost to the front door.

“Holly,” a voice called for her just as she and Jean were reaching the door.

She cursed under her breath before answering, “Yeah?”

“Who’s that?” The voice asked.

Holly and Jean turned around to see a tall blond standing in the doorway leading to the living room. His hair was a little long, he had a full beard, and he wore glasses. 

“No one, Zeke,” Holly answered quickly. “Just a classmate who stopped in to buy something. But that’s done now and he’s leaving.”

“Classmate, huh?” Zeke drawled as he took a step closer.

Jean felt Holly tighten the grip she had on his arm. He fought the urge to look down at her to see if she was okay as he looked up at Zeke. What was Holly doing hanging out with this guy? He was almost ten years older than them. Was he the ex?

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around before,” Zeke said to Jean once he had gotten within arm’s reach of the two of them. “What’s your name?”

“Zeke, please,” Holly whispered. She was trembling now.

Zeke threw her a poisonous glare that made her shut her mouth.

“Jean Kirstein,” Jean finally answered. Normally he would have put his hand out for a handshake, but this time he didn’t. There was obviously something off about this guy. Jean could feel where Holly was digging her nails into his bicep.

Zeke repeated his name back to him slowly. He let out a short hum and stared at the younger man for a few long seconds. Jean met his stare, refusing to back down from this weird display of intimidation. He could still feel Holly's shaking hand gripping him.

After what felt like an eternity, Zeke nodded and gave Jean a fake grin. "Nice to meet you, Jean. Have a good night."

"You too," Jean responded.

Zeke threw one more look at Holly before finally turning around and leaving. As soon as Zeke was out of earshot, Holly resumed her shoving of Jean out the door.

"Hey, hey," he protested with a little chuckle. "I came all the way out here to see you." He was trying his hardest to make it seem like he had no idea what was going on, but his blood was burning in anger.

"Yeah well now you can go back home," she said plainly as she finally released his arm.

He took a moment to look at her for the first time since their interaction with Zeke. She was doing a good job keeping her facial expression unaffected, but he saw in her eyes just how unnerved she was. Something weird was going on and she was obviously uncomfortable.

"Do you want to come with me?" He asked. Maybe she felt trapped in the house. Maybe he could serve as a good excuse for her to leave.

Her entire body deflated as she let out a long sigh. With slumped shoulders, she said, "It's best for both of us if I stay here."

"What does that mean?" He asked.

"I'll see you in class on Monday," she dodged his question as she turned around and walked back inside the house.

Jean let out a deep sigh before he also turned and walked back toward his car. Once he was inside, he got out his phone to call Mikasa. He needed to tell her what he just saw; maybe she could help piece together more information.

\----

Mikasa wasn’t able to provide much more information during her phone call with Jean. The only inferences she was able to make were the same as Jean’s: Zeke is the ex and something weird is definitely going on. Mikasa promised that she would do some more digging without making anyone suspicious. She knew she had to be covert about it because every time she had outright asked in the past, Eren, Armin, and Holly had all shut her down and refused to talk about it.

And so Jean did his best to stay patient. He tried to give Holly some space while simultaneously letting her know that he was there for her if she needed him. His reasons for being nosey about her past used to be selfish (he wanted to be with her, some weird thing was stopping that from happening, and he was going to fix it) but now, after seeing how she reacted to him showing up at that house on Saturday, he worried that this was something bigger than just the two of them. He saw how unnerved and scared she was and he never wanted her to suffer through that again. Even if it meant he broke promises and lied and she never spoke to him again, if it meant she was safe and happy then that’s all that mattered to him.

It was Wednesday before Holly finally approached Jean in their first period class. They still had a few minutes before school would officially start. She took a seat in her desk before turning sideways so that she could see him fully. "If I tell you what's going on, do you promise you’ll drop this?"

"Yes," he lied.

"And you'll tell Mikasa to stop asking questions?"

"Yes,” he lied again.

Holly heaved a deep sigh while she clenched and unclenched her jaw. She was clearly still hesitant to tell him, but she eventually asked, "Did you hear about the kid at Jinae Prep that died in a drunk driving accident at the end of summer?"

"Marco?" Jean clarified as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Holly nodded and he said, "Yeah I remember. Half our class went to middle school together so a bunch of us went to his funeral."

She leaned in closer and whispered, "He wasn't drinking when he crashed. Someone forced him off the road."

He matched her hunched posture and leaned forward. "How do you know that?"

"Because he was on his way to pick me up for our first date when he crashed. Zeke showed up at my house instead and told me that it was my fault."

"What the fuck?" Was all Jean could think to say.

"It was my fault because Zeke warned me when I dumped him that if I tried to get with any other guy, he would kill them."

"What?" He shouted without thinking and she quickly shushed him. His voice went back to a whisper. "Holly, tell the police."

"I can't," she said.

"Why the fuck not?"

"Because if I do, then I'm going to jail too," she said as tears started building behind her eyes.

"What? Why?" He asked.

"Just… please, Jean," she put a hand on top of his to emphasize her next point, "Leave me alone. I don't want you to end up like Marco."

As she turned back around, he tried to get her attention so that she would keep talking, but the bell rang and the teacher walked into the class to start the lesson.

Jean immediately got out his phone and started texting Mikasa.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't find the names of Armin's parents anywhere, so I made them up.
> 
> Warming: graphic depictions of assault.

Holly couldn’t believe that Jean had actually listened to her and was leaving her alone. She fully expected him to ignore her pleas and end up dead in a ditch somewhere. It had been a month since they had their last conversation. 

It was Sunday night and Holly was going through her homework to make sure she had everything done. She packed all of her binders and books into her backpack and carried it out to the front door where she left it sitting on the floor next to her shoes. 

“Dinner in 20 minutes!” Armin’s mom, Edith, yelled down the hall for the rest of the family to hear.

Holly told her thanks and walked back toward her room. She would have just enough time to shower before dinner was ready. The doorbell rang, but she ignored it as she continued upstairs. Armin’s dad, Hans, got up to answer it.

Holly had just finished bundling up her clean pajamas into her arms when there was a knock on the open doorway of her bedroom. Her uncle Hans was standing there with a very concerned look on his face.

“There are some policemen here to see you,” he told her.

She immediately felt sweat beading along her spine and in the palms of her hands. Had Zeke finally cracked and ratted her out like he always threatened? Was he finally caught with drugs and decided to bring down everyone with him? Shaking limbs made it difficult for her to set her pajamas back down and walk to the front of the house. 

The front door was still standing wide open. Out on the steps were two policemen: one very short with black hair styled in an undercut and one very tall with neatly combed blond hair and very thick eyebrows.

“Holly Arlert?” The shorter one asked.

All Holly could do was nod.

“We have some questions we’d like to ask you. May we come in?” The taller one asked.

“What’s this all about?” Hans asked from behind Holly. He had walked up and now had one hand resting on the open door.

“We’re currently working a case, and we’ve been advised that Holly is a good lead and potentially a good witness,” the taller one spoke again. “I’m Officer Smith and this is Officer Ackerman.”

“Holly?” Hans looked down at her.

She thought for a moment as she did her best to swallow with a dry mouth. If Zeke had ratted, then certainly these cops would have shown up and cuffed her. They wouldn’t ask to come in and ask her questions, right? Did that mean that Zeke hadn’t been arrested? If not, then why were these policemen here? 

There was only one way to find out. Holly nodded and stepped away from the door. Hans quickly informed the officers that he was a defense attorney and would act as counsel for Holly during the questioning. Holly silently thanked her uncle and swallowed the guilt she felt for making him do such a thing. Hans led everyone over to the dining room table and Edith soon joined in. 

Officer Ackerman pulled out a pen and a small notebook from his pocket as Officer Smith set a manilla folder on the table and flipped it open to reveal a stack of pictures and papers. The taller man carefully took four pictures and laid them out on the table in front of Holly. “Do you know the men in these pictures?”

Holly looked at them and felt her heartbeat spike. One picture was of Jean, one was of Zeke, and the last two were of Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover. “Yes,” she answered in a voice that was much shakier than she intended.

“Can you please name them for us?” Officer Smith asked.

She nodded and did so, making sure to point to each person as she said their name. 

Officer Smith took the pictures and tucked them back into his folder. “Can you tell us about any illegal activities that any of these men are currently involved in or were involved in at some point in the past?”

“I mean…” she tried to think of a way to stall. “No one’s perfect, right? I imagine everyone’s done something illegal, even if it was relatively minor.”

Officer Smith didn’t respond; he just stared at her with unwavering eyes and a slightly annoyed tilt of his eyebrows. He knew exactly what she was trying to do, and he wasn’t going to let her weasel out of the question.

After a few long seconds of silence, Officer Ackerman looked up from his notebook and stared at her with a blank face. Apparently, he could also see right through her. 

She stared back at both of them with what she imagined was an expression akin to a deer in headlights. 

It felt like an eternity before Officer Ackerman spoke up, “I’m done fucking around. Jean’s life depends on Zeke and his goons getting put away. Are you going to help us or not?”

“Levi,” Officer Smith scolded quietly, but the shorter man seemed unaffected as he stared at Holly.

Holly’s jaw dropped. “What do you mean? Is Jean okay?”

“He is for now, but once Zeke's out on bail there's no telling,” Levi said.

“What happened?” She could feel tears pricking at the back of her eyes. She had a bad feeling that she knew the answer.

“Zeke, Reiner, and Bertholdt beat Jean to within an inch of his life. Before we stepped in and stopped the assault, Zeke very clearly stated that he planned to kill Jean. Jean’s under police protection in the hospital right now, but once he’s back home and Zeke posts bail, we can’t guarantee his safety.”

Her resolve finally broke as she buried her face in her hands and let the tears fall. This was her fault. It had happened again just like Zeke warned her. At this point she felt like she deserved to be in prison. Less people would get hurt or die if she was locked away.

“Are you going to help us put Zeke away or not?” Levi asked pointedly.

Holly nodded weakly and sniffled a few times in an effort to compose herself. “Yes. What do you want to know?”

Levi looked back down at his notebook as Officer Smith said, “Start back with how you and Zeke met.”

\----

Jean startled awake at the sound of knocking on the door. Still in a sleepy haze, he took in his surroundings as his memories came back. It was Monday afternoon. He was in a hospital. He was in a lot of pain. He’d been watching daytime TV game shows, but then the nurse gave him his pain meds and he fell asleep. Someone was knocking on his hospital room door.

“Come in,” he groggily called out as he pressed the button on his bed that let him sit up. 

The police officer who guarded his room in the afternoon (Officer Moblit Berner, Jean thought he remembered) opened the door and stepped inside. “Someone named Holly is here to see you. Should I tell her to leave?”

“No!” Jean said. “Let her in, please.” He lifted his one good hand to try and smooth down his hair as Officer Berner left, but huffed out an irritated sigh when he realized it didn’t matter. Bed head was not the worst thing affecting his appearance right now.

A few seconds later, Holly stepped around the corner and gasped before she could stop herself. She wondered momentarily how in the hell Jean was even alive before tears welled up in her eyes. His face was covered in so many bruises and cuts and welts that he was almost unrecognizable. A bandage covered his broken nose and one arm was wrapped in a cast from his fingers all the way to his shoulder.

“Hey,” he greeted her quietly with a small grin.

“Jean I’m so sorry,” her voice cracked as she said it and tears started running down her face. “This is my fault, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. Come here,” he beckoned her over with his uninjured arm and she slowly walked over to sit in the chair next to his bed. “Did Officer Ackerman come see you?” He asked.

She nodded quietly.

“Did he tell you what happened?”

She shook her head and wiped tears from her cheeks. “All they said was that Zeke and Reiner and Bertholdt attacked you, but they were able to save you in time.”

Jean reached over and gently grabbed her hand in his. She flinched at the touch, but he didn’t move his hand away. He wanted her to know that he wasn’t upset with her. “Officer Ackerman has been our next door neighbor for a long time...”

\---

Growing up as an only child, Jean was always looking to make new friends in his little neighborhood. There were a few kids living in the other houses on the street, but there were some days where everyone was busy and he was stuck with no one to play with. 

One day, when he was about 8, a moving van pulled into the driveway of the house next door. He watched from his front porch as a car soon followed the moving van and pulled into the driveway. A woman got out of the car and a man got out of the van. Jean couldn't tell how old they were, only that they were definitely adults but not as old as his parents. Jean's mom called him inside for dinner so he didn't get a chance to watch his neighbors any longer.

The next morning, Jean saw a police car in the driveway next door. He was worried at first that something had happened with the new neighbors, but then he saw the man from the day before walk out of the house in uniform. The lady trailed behind him and gave the man a hug and a kiss before he got in the car and drove away. Jean almost couldn't contain his excitement when he told his mom about their new neighbor's job. Jean had always wanted to be a policeman, so could they please go over and meet the couple next door?

Levi didn't immediately take to Jean, but his wife Kat loved the young boy and how excitable he was. When Jean was 10 and Levi was put on medical leave after getting shot in the leg while on duty, Jean offered to mow their lawn and walk their dog so that the 7-month-pregnant Kat wouldn't have to. Even after Levi recovered from the bullet wound and returned to work, Jean still diligently cut their grass every week right after finishing cutting the grass in his own yard. 

A few years later when Levi and Kat’s son, Hunter, started school, the couple sometimes asked Jean to babysit if either of them were stuck late at work. Now, three years later, Hunter regularly referred to Jean as his big brother.

So when Jean knocked on Levi’s door one day and asked for a favor, Levi didn't hesitate to say yes.

\----

“Testing 1, 2, 3,” Jean spoke quietly into the open air.

“We can hear you loud and clear, Jean,” Officer Zoe told him as she tapped a few keys on her keyboard. "I knew these new transmitters would work," she mumbled to herself with a proud grin on her face. Jean heard her words and had to force himself to not touch the top button on his shirt. When they told him he'd be wearing a wire, he expected something from the movies with a microphone and cable and recorder taped to his stomach. Instead they'd replaced a single button on his shirt. Apparently it was a new prototype microphone/transmitter that Officer Zoe had been working on for years. 

“Remember, Jean,” Officer Smith said as he put a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “The longer you can keep them talking, the better. We’re here to save you if things go south, but there won’t be a lot we can do without a confession.”

Jean nodded. He should feel more nervous, but he’d steeled his resolve long before he ever asked for help from his neighbor. Levi had personally vouched for these officers, so Jean trusted them with his life.

“Ready to go?” Levi asked.

Jean nodded again and let out a long breath as he watched Levi open the door of the surveillance van they were cramped in. Jean hopped out, walked across the street to his car, and got in to make the drive a few streets over to the same house he’d gone to before. The house where he’d met Zeke for the first time.

Jean had no ear piece to fully communicate with the police officers nearby, so he just had to hope that all the transmitting equipment was still working properly. 

The house looked less sketchy in the daylight, but not by much. The door was closed now and all the blinds were drawn. Empty beer cans and broken glass littered the lawn and Jean thought he saw a person sleeping in an overgrown bush next to the house. At least he hoped the person was sleeping.

A few deep breaths helped Jean boost his confidence as he walked up to the front door and knocked. There was some shuffling inside for a few seconds followed by the sound of footsteps approaching the door. A couple of locks clicked open before the door finally opened to reveal Reiner.

"Jean?" He asked before a smile spread across his face. "Hey man, how's it going? You hear to buy something?"

"No, Reiner," Jean responded. "I'm here to see Zeke."

Reiner's smile disappeared. "Why do you want to see Zeke?"

"I wanted to talk to him about Holly."

Reiner's eyes popped wide open and his grip on the door frame tightened until the wood groaned slightly under his fist. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Don't care," Jean replied in the most bored tone he could manage.

"All right, dude. Can't say I didn't warn you." Reiner looked over his shoulder and yelled for Zeke. 

The blond appeared a few minutes later and smirked when he realized who was at the door. "Hey there. Jean, was it?"

"Yeah."

"How can I help you?"

"I need you to leave Holly alone."

The smirk on Zeke's face dropped to a sneer. "Is that so? Did she put you up to this?"

"No. She actually told me multiple times to leave her alone for my own good, but I can't do that."

Zeke sighed. "You should have listened to her. Reiner, bring this idiot inside. And get his phone. You forgot last time."

'Last time'. Jean figured that could only refer to one thing. "Are you talking about Marco?" He asked as Reiner pulled him inside.

Zeke's hand waved flippantly in the air. "Whatever the fuck his name was. The last idiot who thought he could take Holly from me."

"She isn't _yours_ , you asshole," Jean snapped. "Not anymore. And you need to let her live her life."

Zeke hummed sarcastically as he pretended to consider Jean's words. "No, I think I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing. Eventually she'll figure out that I'm the best she's ever going to get. Reiner, why haven't you smashed his phone yet?"

Bertholdt had walked into the front hall by now and was sweating nervously as he watched Reiner dig into Jean's pocket, pull out his phone, throw it on the floor, and stomp on it.

"Good. Maybe this time it'll take them a few days to find your body," Zeke said. With a quirk of his head in Jean's direction, the order was silently given.

Bertholdt stepped over behind Jean and pinned his arms behind his back so that Reiner could easily land a left hook on Jean's right cheek.

Jean's head snapped to the left and he nearly fainted from the pain. His legs must have given out a little, because he felt Bertholdt pull up on his shoulders in an effort to put him back on his feet. 

Jean's head slowly moved back to its original position as he regained his wits. "You think you're the best Holly's ever gonna get?" He asked Zeke mockingly. "What happens when you eventually get busted for drugs? How are you gonna take care of her from prison?" Of course, Jean didn't believe in what he was saying, but he remembered Levi and his team telling him that a confession had to happen. Jean assumed any kind of confession would do, but he figured he'd try and get a few crimes recorded while he was here. 

A right hook from Reiner caused stars to burst in Jean's vision and he tasted blood in his mouth.

"Considering the fact that I'll never get busted, I'll always be around for her," Zeke answered as Jean was slowly dragged back up to his feet once more. "Especially when the alternatives keep turning up dead."

The next set of punches came in a flurry that actually did knock Jean to his knees. Bertholdt did his best to try and pull Jean back to his feet, but the dead weight was awkward so he eventually gave up and released Jean. He fell to the floor with a thud and gasped for breath through a mouth full of blood. 

After taking a moment to gather his wits, Jean jerked an arm underneath his body in an effort to push himself back up off the filthy floor of this drug house. Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to stand as Zeke walked over and kicked his arm out from under him. Zeke then proceeded to lift his booted foot as high as he could manage before stomping down on the top half of Jean's arm. A sickening _crack_ echoed in the hallway immediately followed by Jean's pained shouts. He'd managed to stay silent up to now, but this was too much. 

As he lay there, face down in the disgusting carpet, he wondered if the transmitter in his shirt button had malfunctioned. That would explain why Levi and company hadn't come for him yet. It would also mean he was about to die.

Another brutal stomp interrupted his thoughts as more pain blossomed from the lower half of his arm. He hoped he would go into shock soon so the pain would stop.

Someone picked him up by the armpits and started dragging him toward the front door. Orders were given, doors opened and closed. The sound of rustling plastic approached from deeper in the house and Jean managed to crack one eye open enough to see that Reiner was laying a shower curtain down in the backseat of a car that Bertholdt had pulled up right next to the front door of the house. He was picked up by the armpits again and dragged outside into the blazing sunshine. 

And then multiple sets of tires screeched out on the street in front of the house. A cacophony of voices shouting, "Rose County Police! Get on the ground!" rang from across the yard as Jean was unceremoniously dropped to the ground.

Again Jean tried to open his eyes to see what was happening, but only caught a few glimpses. Zeke ran back into the house, probably in an effort to get out the back door and escape, but was followed closely by Levi who ran past Jean like a bolt of lightning. Reiner and Bertholdt, knowing better than to try and run from the growing squad of officers, put their hands on their heads and dropped to their knees. A few minutes later, Levi dragged Zeke out to join his goons on the front lawn. Despite their difference in height, Levi threw around the drug dealer like he was a rag doll.

A shadow appeared over Jean and he lazily rolled his head up to look at the woman who was kneeling over him. The embroidery on the front of her uniform read 'EMT'. Her mouth moved, but no sound came out.

And then Jean blacked out.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short wrap-up chapter because I always have a hard time figuring out how to finish my stories.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!

One of Holly's first memories was her father sitting on the couch in their living room staring at the blank wall for multiple hours without moving. She didn't remember how old she was when she finally asked her mother why her father did this nearly everyday, but she did remember her parents getting into an explosive fight that night. After that, she never saw her dad in that odd position again, but he did start disappearing into his bedroom for hours on end everyday.

The night of her mother's funeral, her Uncle Hans insisted Holly stay at his house. After dinner, he sat her down and attempted to teach her the concept of addiction. There were substances and activities out there - a lot of them legal - that were specifically designed to develop a mental or physical dependency. Those who developed a dependency were addicts. Some addicts never realized they were addicts. Some realized but didn't see anything wrong with it and never sought help. Some realized they needed help, but were never cured. Some were cured but relapsed. Some were cured forever.

Both of Holly's parents had been drug addicts before she was born. Her mother had been able to quit when she realized she was pregnant, but over a decade later relapsed and died of an overdose. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for former addicts to relapse with the mindset of “just this once, just to scratch the itch”, consume the same amount or dosage that they consumed when they were actively using, and then die because that amount was too much for their sober bodies to handle. Holly's father had tried to get help numerous times, but sobriety never lasted more than a few months.

Soon after the death of his wife, Holly's father let his new drug dealer, Zeke Yeager, move into their family home in exchange for all the product he could consume. If her father cared that he was giving a 23-year-old criminal access to his 13-year-old daughter, he never showed it. 

Starved for attention and lacking in self-esteem, Holly was an easy target for Zeke's manipulations. It started with subtle comments like "You're the prettiest girl in your class" and "You're so mature for your age" and quickly progressed to sexting, pictures, and then an actual relationship right before her fourteenth birthday. They would eventually tell her father once she was "legal" at 16, but again he didn't seem to care as long as he could continue living his life blitzed out of his mind.

With the relationship came employment. Holly had just started at Jinae Prep and started selling Zeke's pot to her classmates. She was happy with her life as it stood, rationalizing that it wasn't perfect, but what person ever actually had a perfect life? It wasn't until her Junior year when she befriended a boy named Marco in Mrs. Ackerman's class that she realized how fucked up everything was. 

If Holly had known that Mrs. Ackerman was married to a cop, she never would have spoken to her about anything. Holly’s upbringing had instilled a sense of “the system doesn’t care about me, so fuck the system” and she harbored a hatred for the police for most of her life. But she didn’t know about Mrs. Ackerman’s husband, and that ignorance led to long afternoons spent idly talking with her favorite teacher after school. In these idle conversations, Holly let slip snippets of her home life that, in her eyes, were perfectly normal but that her teacher recognized as anything but. Things like always feeling tired because her house was full of people every night which kept her from getting a good night’s sleep. Having to remember to lock her bedroom door every night because drunk and/or high idiots would routinely stumble in her room otherwise. Subsisting almost entirely on food she could microwave because her dad didn’t cook or grocery shop.

Simultaneously, the same thing was happening with Marco. Idle conversations before and after class revealed things about Holly’s relationship that had Marco asking some uncomfortable questions. Why is Zeke forcing you to sleep with him even when you don’t want to? Why won’t he let you have any friends outside of his own friend circle? Why does he go through your texts and emails every single night?

Slowly, over the course of the school year, Marco and Mrs. Ackerman helped Holly see the light. As soon as school let out for the summer, CPS “mysteriously” showed up at Holly’s house for a wellness check. She was removed from the house that afternoon and placed in the care of her Uncle Hans and Aunt Edith. The longer she spent away from Zeke, the freer she felt. She was finally able to text Marco as much as she wanted and she eventually realized that she needed to end things with Zeke.

And so she dumped him. And he immediately assumed there had to be another guy. And he promised he would kill anyone she ever tried to date because if Zeke couldn’t have her, no one could. She obviously didn’t believe the threat because, really, what kind of person makes good on a stupid threat like that? 

Marco was killed two weeks later. And Holly agreed to all of Zeke’s terms and conditions (No drinking, no drugs, spend every weekend at her old house with Zeke, and no friendships outside of Eren, Armin, and Mikasa) in an effort to keep the rest of the people in her life safe.

“That’s why they’re also tacking on charges of statutory rape, possession of child pornography, grooming a minor, etc. etc. on top of all the drug stuff, attempted murder, and actual murder,” Holly finished her story and stared at the muted TV so that she wouldn’t have to look at Jean.

Jean let out a long sigh. “That’s why you kept telling me to stay away from you.”

She nodded.

“Well I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t listen,” he said with a teasing smirk.

Her head whipped around to finally look at him. “You almost _died_.”

“Yeah well,” he started with a half-shrug of his good shoulder, “I didn’t. And now that psychopath is in jail and should be for a long time. Levi told me they’ve been gathering evidence on Zeke for years.”

“I still can’t believe you volunteered to be bait.”

He shrugged again. “Apparently they kept sending in their own guys, but Zeke would always sniff them out. We figured he’d be less suspicious of me. The plan was to get a recording of him confessing to killing Marco, but I ended up getting a lot more.”

She sighed and leaned forward to prop her elbows on the edge of Jean’s hospital bed. “I don’t think I could ever thank you enough in a million lifetimes for helping me.”

“I didn’t do it for thanks or to have you in my debt or anything. I just wanted to help someone in trouble.” He reached a tentative hand over and ran his fingers through her hair.

She grinned and leaned into his touch. “Well, I appreciate it. And I’m sure I can think of a few ways to thank you.” With a smirk, she added, “Once you’re better, of course.”

He smirked in return and let out a low growl. “I can’t wait.”


End file.
